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Happy 70th birthday, Sir Elton

Bright glittery suits, plateau shoes, feather boas and crazy glasses: in the 1970s, Elton John was one of the most flashy characters in pop music. Decades later, he is married and the father of two sons.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Eccentric with a big heart

The man born 1947 as Reginald Kenneth Dwight dominated Britain's pop scene in the 1970s. In the US, Elton John was one the first artists ever with four simultaneous top ten records. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for his contributions to music and charity. At 70, Sir Elton looks back at a career that spans five decades of ups and downs.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Big hits, big pianos

Elton John at the piano - an iconic picture. Above, the living legend is seen playing "Your song" at the start of his 2000 British tour - his heartfelt breakthrough title in 1970, his first single in the charts, a song that hit the top ten in England and the US. After that, there was no stopping Elton John.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Rocket Man

He worked incessantly, releasing three studio albums in 1971 alone. His biggest hits were all produced in the 1970s, "Rocket Man," "Crocodile Rock," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Candle in the Wind." Duets with John Lennon ("Whatever gets you through the Night") and Kiki Dee ("Don't go breaking my heart") elevate Elton John to a pop titan.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Devotion to soccer

By 1976, Elton John was flush enough to finance another passion: soccer. He supported the Watford Football Club, a move that catapulted the team from forth division to the Premier League, and invested in the Los Angeles Aztecs. Above, Irish soccer legend George Best watches the pop star in action.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Swing the racket to fight Aids

The advocate for gay and lesbian rights founded the Elton John Aids Foundation in the early 1990s. John helps organize regular charity events - and he participates, like in the above 2016 celebrities' charity tennis tournament.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Goodbye England's Rose

The Queens's unhappy daughter-in-law, Lady Diana, was one of Elton John's best friends. After her death in a car accident in August 1997, Elton John rewrote the lyrics to "Candle in the Wind," a song he originally penned for Marilyn Monroe in 1974. Elton John peformed the song at Diana's funeral. The recording sold millions of copies and raised millions of euros for charity.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Married to Renate

Elton John came out as bisexual in 1976. He married the German sound engineer Renate Blauel in 1984. The marriage lasted four years. Two years after the break-up, Elton John declared his homosexuality.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Married to David

In 2005, Elton John and David Furnish documented their civil partnership, which was formally converted into a marriage nine years later. "As a gay man I am perfectly happy with my sexuality and my life. I can honestly say that the deepest longings of my heart are satisfied," John said in response to a Scottish cardinal's remarks about homosexuality.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Four guys, one family

The couple adopted two boys, Zachary Jackson Levon and Elijah Joseph Daniel. Both children have the same surrogate mother - but whether John or Furnish is the biological dad remains a well-kept secret.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Ahoy, mate

John and Furnish adore dressing up in outlandish outfits. For John's 50th birthday, they showed up as a baroque couple, ten years later saw the pair decked out as banana republic dictators. Above, their outfit at a friend's birthday party. What will it be for John's 70th birthday?

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Eccentric with a big heart

The man born 1947 as Reginald Kenneth Dwight dominated Britain's pop scene in the 1970s. In the US, Elton John was one the first artists ever with four simultaneous top ten records. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for his contributions to music and charity. At 70, Sir Elton looks back at a career that spans five decades of ups and downs.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Big hits, big pianos

Elton John at the piano - an iconic picture. Above, the living legend is seen playing "Your song" at the start of his 2000 British tour - his heartfelt breakthrough title in 1970, his first single in the charts, a song that hit the top ten in England and the US. After that, there was no stopping Elton John.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Rocket Man

He worked incessantly, releasing three studio albums in 1971 alone. His biggest hits were all produced in the 1970s, "Rocket Man," "Crocodile Rock," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Candle in the Wind." Duets with John Lennon ("Whatever gets you through the Night") and Kiki Dee ("Don't go breaking my heart") elevate Elton John to a pop titan.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Devotion to soccer

By 1976, Elton John was flush enough to finance another passion: soccer. He supported the Watford Football Club, a move that catapulted the team from forth division to the Premier League, and invested in the Los Angeles Aztecs. Above, Irish soccer legend George Best watches the pop star in action.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Swing the racket to fight Aids

The advocate for gay and lesbian rights founded the Elton John Aids Foundation in the early 1990s. John helps organize regular charity events - and he participates, like in the above 2016 celebrities' charity tennis tournament.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Goodbye England's Rose

The Queens's unhappy daughter-in-law, Lady Diana, was one of Elton John's best friends. After her death in a car accident in August 1997, Elton John rewrote the lyrics to "Candle in the Wind," a song he originally penned for Marilyn Monroe in 1974. Elton John peformed the song at Diana's funeral. The recording sold millions of copies and raised millions of euros for charity.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Married to Renate

Elton John came out as bisexual in 1976. He married the German sound engineer Renate Blauel in 1984. The marriage lasted four years. Two years after the break-up, Elton John declared his homosexuality.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Married to David

In 2005, Elton John and David Furnish documented their civil partnership, which was formally converted into a marriage nine years later. "As a gay man I am perfectly happy with my sexuality and my life. I can honestly say that the deepest longings of my heart are satisfied," John said in response to a Scottish cardinal's remarks about homosexuality.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Four guys, one family

The couple adopted two boys, Zachary Jackson Levon and Elijah Joseph Daniel. Both children have the same surrogate mother - but whether John or Furnish is the biological dad remains a well-kept secret.

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton

Ahoy, mate

John and Furnish adore dressing up in outlandish outfits. For John's 50th birthday, they showed up as a baroque couple, ten years later saw the pair decked out as banana republic dictators. Above, their outfit at a friend's birthday party. What will it be for John's 70th birthday?

With dozens of mega hits and almost 300 million albums sold, Elton John is a living legend.

He won five Grammys, and an Oscar for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," the love song in Disney's "The Lion King." To this very day, his Lady Diana edition of "Candle in the Wind" is the most-sold single ever.

Fate wasn't always kind, however: while writing unforgettable music, veritable soundtracks for many generations, Elton John grappled with drugs, fought with bulimia and lost many of his best friends.

Still standing

Sporting giant Nike came up with a special birthday present for the pop titan ahead of the big day: a specially-designed, unique pair of sneakers - just for him.

Which he may or many not wear for his big birthday bash at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.

Click on the above picture gallery for more about 70 years of Sir Elton John.